During her 30 year career in Social Services, Ms. Fisher has worked as a clinical social worker, supervisor, and administrator in public child welfare services including work in child protective services, foster care, adoption, and resource development.  For over a decade, Ms Fisher served as a Local Director of Social Services where she planned, developed, implemented, and evaluated human service programs that protect vulnerable children and adults and assist those in economic need.  These included, Child and Adult Protective Services, Foster Care, Adoption TANF, Child Care, Medicaid, Food stamps and Child Support.  Ms Fisher has served in leadership positions with the American Public Human Services Association, the National Association of Social Workers (Maryland), and the Maryland Association of Social Services Departments. 

In her most recent leadership position, she has served as the Executive Director of the Social Services Administration at the Maryland Department of Human Resources.  In this role she provided state level leadership to all of Maryland’s child welfare and adult services encompassing Baltimore City and 23 counties.  During her tenure she oversaw implementation of Maryland’s Place Matters Initiative focused on reducing the number of children in foster care by development of placement resources and services that support children and families in their own communities.  Under the Place Matters initiative, which began in 2007, Maryland has reduced their caseload by more the 1,000 children.   Through partnership with public and private partners, Maryland has initiated Family Centered Practice, increased foster family and kin care resources, and expanded the service array with particular focus on mental health services and education access for children in foster care. 

Ms Fisher believes that the success of child welfare services can only be realized when families are placed in the center of the development of policy and practice.  She has a particular interest in the development and strengthening of organizational capacity to support implementation and ensure sustainable systems change. She has extensive experience in strategic planning and in creating action plans and practice that result in successful implementation of new initiatives while ensuring the infrastructure is in place to sustain the change.   Her work has included the successful application of state and local staff for Accreditation by the Council on Accreditation for Families and Children.